In our first month on the World Race, my team made a list of “Impossible Prayers”. These prayers were things that felt impossible in our own human strength, and we wanted to bring them to the Lord everyday as a team. Most prayers were serious, while others were more fun. All of us really wanted to go to Machu Picchu in Peru, but knew that if our ministry was far away from Machu Picchu it would be out of our personal budgets to make the trip. We started praying 3 months ago that God would make it possible for our whole team to see Machu Picchu.
Two weeks before traveling to Peru, my team found out that our ministry was located in Cusco which is the main city that people fly into when traveling to Machu Picchu! HECK YEAH!
Our ministry host was excited for us to see Machu Picchu, and gave us 2 days off to travel there.
Most people take a train from Cusco all the way to Machu Picchu, but it costs about $250, and none of us could afford that. In an effort to be as cost effective as possible, we booked the “economy package” with a local travel agency for just $100 per person. We soon found out why it was so cheap.
On the day of our journey we woke up at 4 AM and took a taxi into the city to catch our bus. Our bus was an extended 15 passenger van, and I was crammed in the very back between Sara and a very broad shouldered Colombian man. We spent 6 hours in that bus bumping and bouncing on dirt “roads” carved into the side of the mountains with a sheer drop off on one side.
We ended our 6 hour journey in the middle of nowhere Peru where we got instructions to walk to a train station and follow the train tracks for 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) until we arrived to Aguas Calientes, the town where Machu Picchu is located. It sounded easy enough.
We began walking and quickly became jealous of the people on the trains that frequently passed us speeding towards Machu Picchu. We trudged along, mostly walking on the tracks until a train would toot its horn and we’d scurry off. It was muddy and wet. The surrounding mountains were stunning, but we had to keep our eyes on the ground to survive the mud, rocks, and train tracks.
3 hours later we finally arrived at Aguas Calientes. We found the hostel that our travel agent had booked for us and were delighted to find that we each had a bed – A WHOLE DOUBLE BED TO OURSELVES!!!! (We’ve been sleeping on the floor of the church all lined up like sardines).
That night we met up with our group, and our travel agent took us to a restaurant in town to eat. The menu included grilled chicken and steak, pasta, and plain rice with vegetables. Normally I would have been team steak all the way, but I didn’t want to chance getting food poisoning the night before Machu Picchu, so I went with the rice and vegetables. Exhausted, we gobbled up our food and walked back to our hostel. We had to be up at 3 AM to begin walking up the mountain to Machu Picchu (most people take a bus, but of course that wasn’t included in the “economy package”). I sprawled out in my luxurious double bed, freshly showered and ready to dream of ancient ruins surrounded by towering mountains. I hadn’t even closed my eyes when I began to feel the classic gurgling in my stomach…like ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?! I ATE RICE FOR DINNER?!
I spent the next 5 hours until 3 AM wide awake lying completely still and willing myself not to throw up. 3 AM arrived. It was pitch black and POURING down rain. We packed our backpacks and started our trek up the mountain. The path was literally just rock stairs built into the side of the mountain. We climbed them for a solid hour in the dark and rain and cold.
As soon as we started climbing up the mountain I knew that something bad was going to happen. My stomach was so bloated I looked like I was 7 months pregnant. It hurt so bad, and I just kept telling my food to go, “down down down.” I couldn’t stop to take breaks because I knew if I stopped walking, I’d puke. Thankfully my teammate Maddie is the real MVP and walked with me while the rest of my team stopped to take some breaks. At one point Maddie began praying out loud for my stomach. I was in so much pain I was bent over clutching my stomach as we climbed. She prayed that the Lord would release the tension and pain in my stomach. No more than 2 minutes later I dropped my pack and puked an absurd amount in a bush on the side of the path. Classic.
Sweet Maddie held my hair and gave me some gum. She’s seriously such a gem. We kept walking and finally made it to the top where we were greeted with more rain and a herd of tourists. It was 6 AM and we met up with the rest of our group who had taken the bus up the mountain.
At this point I had acquired a plastic bag in case I had to puke again during our tour. I asked the tour guide if there were any bathrooms once we entered Machu Picchu. He said no, pointed to my plastic bag, and started laughing. I thought about just not doing the tour and staying back at the bathroom outside the ruins, but shew dang I had gotten this far! I was going!
We entered Machu Picchu and were greeted with a solid white blanket of thick clouds covering the entire thing. We couldn’t see anything. Cool. Real cool. I was honestly pissed. I was tired. Wet. Cold. Soggy. Muddy. My stomach hurt like a mofo. AND I couldn’t see anything.
Our beautiful view of Machu Picchu. Don’t be deceived by my pleasant smile. I was MAD. (see also the blue plastic bag I am clutching)
Not 15 minutes later, as we continued with our tour, the sun burned away the fog and Machu Picchu came into view in all of its glory. It exceeded all of my expectations. The mountains are so tall and so skinny and covered in trees. It’s all just so striking. I can’t even describe the beauty, and pictures don’t do it justice. All I can say is: our God is indescribably creative. Yes,the ancient ruins were cool, but I couldn’t stop staring at the mountains, the rivers, the sky, and the birds darting to and fro. It was glorious. The sun warmed my soggy skin and my stomach calmed down. It was just GLORIOUS.
Now THAT is what I am talking about!!!
So. If you are thinking about visiting Machu Picchu here’s my advice:
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GO. I understand why it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. You won’t regret it.
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Take the ding dang train from Cusco to Machu Picchu.
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Don’t eat anything except for saltine crackers for approx. 3 days prior to your trip. This is not a joke.
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Laugh at all the basic white girls making their poor boyfriends take ridiculous, posed pictures of them overlooking Machu Picchu (I observed this while clutching my plastic puke bag, and looking like a drowned rat).
P.S. We ended up paying to take the bus back down the mountain, and then took the train back to meet our bus. #noregrets
P.P.S THANKS GOD for answering our prayer, healing my tummy, and bringing the sun out. You never cease to amaze me and bless me.
hehe llama butts
